What We Want for Christmas

  Christmas is fast approaching and most of us know what we want during this time of the year. You and I want something different. More than wanting to have all the gifts bought and even more than thoughts that you might get a useful gift. We want a Christmas that is free of hustle and bustle. We want a Christmas that has a special meaning. A feeling they perhaps had as a child. A Christmas with wonder and joy.
  At the Radeke house, my wife plays the highly predictable Hallmark Christmas movies. Early in the movie, you know the jerk she is engaged to is not the one she should marry. She is going to marry the nice guy who is overlooked and underappreciated. We watch similar movies every year because we want the happy ending.
It seems odd that Jesus came to bring peace on earth and joy to the world, but each year it seems to slip away from us. So, we look for ways of capturing that something that we are not certain we can obtain. We simplify, try to slow down, and look for the meaning that gets crowded out.
​ Mary, before she became the mother of Jesus, embraced the chaos of a virgin pregnancy, which could have cost her life if charged with unfaithfulness. Mary trusted God’s words given by the angel, Gabriel. You and I need to trust God’s words of joy in the midst of whatever chaos is happening.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”                                                                              Jesus